Deep in Death
by AkaiitE
Summary: Cop AU. Ereri. Jearmin. Smut. MutlishipNYC homicide detective Levi has just taken a young Eren Jaeger under his wing on what might be his most difficult case to date, and the secret to uncovering the truth might lie with the young detective.
1. Chapter 1: Another Day in Misery

Deep in Death

30 years old, and Levi is the most promising homicide detective in New York. Yet nothing that comes across his desk is enough to spark the passion he used to feel when he first started at the 12th precinct 6 years ago under Captain Erwin Smith. That is until the most gruesome case he has ever seen falls into his lap one cold January morning. With his new partner, a young detective who is so green you can still smell spring on him, Levi attempts to unravel the most complicated case he;s ever taken on. A case with government cover ups and implications of things even Levi can't stomach. And the key to understanding everything might lie with his new partner, and the mysterious circumstances around his mother's death.

...

Chapter One: Another Day in Misery

Levi leaned against the brick wall of the 12th precinct, his left foot propped up against the wall, a Starbucks latte in one hand and a freshly lit cigarette in the other. His face was turned up to the overcast sky, his warm breath fogging up the air in front of him. Bringing the smoldering cigarette to his lips, he took a deep long drag, letting the warm smoke fill his lungs. Almost instantly he felt the effects of the nicotine on his system. Holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment, he savored the warmth it brought, then slowly exhaled towards the sky. The addition of cigarette smoke not really changing the smoggy quality of the air in front of him. With one last push from his lungs, he exhaled the last of the smoke, letting his hand fall limp by his side, where the cigarette glowed gently between his yellowing first and second fingers. He then brought the white paper cup up to his lips and sipped at the still hot liquid inside. It's bitter tasted washed over his tongue, burning it slightly. After a few more sips, he lowered his hand to ninety degrees from his body, and leaned his head back against the brick wall and closed his eyes.

It was an indication of how awful of a day. Week. Month it had been, that he was double fisting his vices, braving the cold air of a January in New York. Everything that had fallen on his desk was boring. Stale. He wanted something interesting. Instead, all he got was divorces gone very wrong and prostitutes stabbed for denying some drunkard sex. Instead, all he got was open and close cases and a mountain of paper work.

With a sigh, he brought his coffee cup back up to his lips, trying to not think about the mountain of paperwork sitting on his desk back upstairs. He was just about to take a sip when something collided with him, sending his coffee cup flying from his hand. The latte sprawled across the pock marked side walk while the cup rolled away from him. For a moment, he just glared at the cup on the ground, some what in disbelief. His already shitty day was getting worse by the minute.

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" came a voice. Levi looked up from the cup to see a young boy, no more than 21, bending at the waist to chase after the cup.

"Just leave it," Levi growled, bringing the cigarette back up to his lips to take a long drag. The boy looked up at him, his bright green eyes locking with Levi's.

"I-I... I'm really sorry," the kid repeated.

"Don't fucking do it again, or I'll kick your ass," Levi answered after slowly letting the smoke escape his lips, trying his best to stay calm. Every ounce of him wanted to grab this kid by his fancy ass jacket and give that porcelain face of his a good black eye at the vey least. He knew if he did, Erwin would put him on suspension for sure.

The kid nodded, his adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard at the look of pure malice obviously reflecting in Levi's eyes.

"Now, get the fuck out of my sight," Levi snapped, and closed his eyes, his cigarette already at his lips.

When he opened his eyes, the kid was gone. If he was lucky, Levi would never see him again.

...

Twenty minutes later, no more relaxed than he was when he left for his break, Levi threw the cigarette filter on the side walk, crushing it under the toe of his boot and kicking it aside. He side stepped the puddle of what was once his coffee, and pushed open the door of the precinct.

As he took the elevator up to the 3rd floor, the homicide floor, Levi wished he had gone across the street to buy himself another latte. But before he had made his decision to go back downstairs, the doors opened and displayed fifteen desks in three neat rows, each ladened in computers, and never silent phones behind a wall of wire. He knew if he travelled right, he would be in front of the two interrogation rooms on this floor, and if he went left, he would be in the break room with an old fridge no one bothered to clean out, and a coffee machine that only made weak coffee which tasted like dirt. Directly across from the elevator, behind the rows of desks, there was a glass wall with the blinds shuddered closed, but the dim glow of the overcast sky was still visible through them. Half way down, there was a door, and in gold letters was the name Cpt. Erwin Smith.

It wasn't unusual for Erwin to have his blinds closed. In fact, that was the way he liked it. That was the way things usually were. To many, it was a mystery what happened beyond that door when it was closed, but not to Levi. It had never been a mystery. And that was part of the reason he had received his job at this particular precinct. a

Levi threw his leather jacket over the back of his chair, and sat down behind the pile of paperwork, glaring at it in hopes that it would just do itself.

"You know," came a voice, that paper work isn't going to get done any faster if you just glare at it."

Levi looked up to Oluo, a fellow homicide detective leaning on his desk.

"I bet it would get done faster if you did it," Levi replied, pulling a file towards him and casually flicking it open.

Paper work was his least favourite part of his job. He loved the trill he got from solving murders, bringing down the bad guy. Nothing gave him more of a rush. If all he had to do was find murders, he would be happy. Unfortunately, that wasn't all this job entailed. There was another side. A side he despised.

Paper work.

"That would defeat the purpose, Sir," Oluo answered with a laugh and moved back to his desk. Levi had just picked up his pen and started filling in the paperwork when his phone started to buzz on the desk.

Zoe Hanji.

With a sigh he picked it up.

"This had better be good," he growled into the mouth piece.

"Well good morning to you too," she said sarcastically.

"What is it, Hanji?"

"I've got a good one for you," she said, her voice a little too cheerful for announcing the discovery of a body.

"It better be fucking good, Hanji. I'm up to my eyeballs in paperwork..."

"Aw come on, Levi, you know I wouldn't call if it wasn't good."

"Last time you called me, it was for a dead hooker who had been mugged."

"Yes, but she was found strung up, upside down, on a stripper pole!"

"What is it, Hanji?" he repeated.

"That would ruin the surprise. Trust me, you're going to like this one." Her excitement was so overwhelming, he could almost feel himself getting excited. "Besides. Do you want to do paper work all day, or do you want to solve a murder?"

She knew. She knew only too well what he wanted.

"Fuck you," he growled.

"See you soon?"

"Yeah, I'm just leaving now," he replied.

"Okay, we are at 23rd and Lex,"

Levi hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket off his chair. he was just sliding his arm into the jacket when Erwin poked his head out from the office door.

"Levi, just the man I was looking for,"

"Sorry, Sir, not now. I'm just leaving for a crime scene."

Erwin glance at the stack of papers on Levi's desk and raised his eye brow skeptically. "Apparently it's a good one," Levi replied with a shrug.

"It'll only take five minutes." When was the last time it had only taken five minutes, Levi thought to himself skeptically. "Get your ass in here, that's an order."

"Yes, Sir." Levi put down his jacket and stalked towards Erwin's office. Levi closed the door behind him and stared at the Captain with puzzlement in his eyes. His hand up at the collar of his white button down shirt. Erwin shook his head.

"Levi, I'd like you to meet your new partner." he said, gesturing towards the corner. Levi hadn't realized there was a third person in the room. He turned to see a kid, no more than 21 standing there. He was tall. At least a head taller than Levi. He had wide shoulders and narrow hips. A wiry build, yet he was still muscular. His loose shirt clung to and accentuated every muscle in his arms and chest.

Then Levi's eyes settled on the kid's face. Shaggy dark brown hair framed his pale, boyish face, where two bright green eyes bloomed spectacularly.

Levi turned back to Erwin, feeling the frown on his face deepening.

"I don't take partners," Levi growled.

"You do now," Erwin answered. "His name is Eren Jaeger. He's a recent graduate. Top of his class. Very promising young man. I want him to learn from the best."

He'd gotten along just fine over the last four years without a partner; his last partner hadn't worked out so well.

"Sir, I said I don't take on partners"

"And I said you do," Erwin growled, his words indicating that the consequences for disobeying him would be far graver than Levi would have ever anticipated. Levi clenched his jaw and shot the kid a look, nodding his head towards the door, indicating it was time to leave. Levi turned on his heels and left the room without even a backwards glance. The kid followed him out the door.

"Get your shit, newbie. We've got a case."

"Yes, Sir," Eren responded, pulling his expensive jacket on over the shirt he was wearing.

Levi marched down the hall and hit the button for the elevator. He stood with his arms crossed as he waited for it to reach their floor.

"It's a real pleasure to work with you," Eren said, enthusiastically, thrusting a hand towards Levi. Levi just glared at it.

"First rule, Erika, keep your mouth." Levi growled and stepped onto the elevator.

"Um, sir... my name..." Eren replied, following Levi onto the elevator. The doors closed, and Levi pinned the kid to the wall. He may have been shorter than Eren, but he still had the upper hand.

"I don't give a fuck what your name is. You will keep your trap shut unless I ask for your opinion," he whispered menacingly. He was up on his tip toes so he could lean in to Eren's ear. He could smell the gentle odor of his soap, like Dove or something. He released Eren, feeling his heart rate rising. He took a step back and brushed himself off. "I don't take on partners. They are more trouble than they are worth. You will watch your own back. I neither want, nor expect your help. You're in the big leagues now, newbie. Better toughen the fuck up." With that, the elevator doors opened, and Levi stepped off, wiping his hands off on his slacks as he marched towards his car.


	2. Chapter 2: All That's Left

Chapter Two: All That's Left

It amused Levi to watch Eren out of the corner of his eye. His body rigid, sitting on the edge of his seat, completely erect, staring straight ahead and avoiding Levi's gaze at all costs. He wasn't sure if it was due to the fright he had given him in the elevator, or the nerves of visiting his first crime scene. Likely a combination of the two. All he knew was that toying with this newbie was going to be fun, even if this case turned out to be a complete and utter bust.

"You're getting me a new coffee, Newbie," Levi growled as drove out of the precinct parking lot, letting the car shift easily into second gear as he released the clutch. "You got cash?"

"Um.. yes! Sorry sir!" Eren turned beet red, obviously remembering the incident from a few hours earlier, and only just now realizing that the person who's coffee he had knocked over had been Levi.

Levi drove the car down the street to the nearest Starbucks, which was usually crowded with detectives and police officers due to it's vicinity to the precinct. He steered the car to the drive through and rolled down the tinted window on the driver's side just as he rolled up beside the intercom.

"Hello! Welcome to Starbucks! What can I get for you?" said a too cheery voice on the other end.

"Yeah, I'll have a grande half sweet latte," he said to the intercom, then turned to Eren. "What about you, newbie?"

"Umm..."

"Make it snappy, Susan!" Levi barked.

"A mocha," Eren blurted out.

"And a mocha for the princess. Make sure you add extra whip!" Levi said, turning back to the intercom. Eren half looked like he was going to interject, but clamped his mouth shut almost right away.

"A half sweet latte and a mocha extra whip?"

"That's right,"

"I'll see you at the next window,"

Levi threw the car back into first gear, and pulled around to the window where the girl with heavy make up, wearing a black t shirt, a green apron, and a fake smile handed them their coffees. Eren passed her a twenty dollar bill, trying to lean across Levi careful not to make any contact with any part of Levi's person.

"What's the matter, Newbie?" he whispered, "I don't bite. Hard." Eren blushed, but continued to focus on the task at had, but leaned in a little closer so he didn't look so awkward. The closer he got, the more the air around Levi changed. Instead of the usual smell of leather and cigarettes, his nostrils were filled with the scent coming off Eren's skin. Now that he was closer, he could smell the faith traces of the leather jacket Eren wore, and home brewed coffee. Even the musky smell of the day seemed to be settling on his skin, and yet Levi found that smelt good. It had Levi's head swimming. It was a smell that reminded him of things he could never have, yet craved more than anything.

It wasn't like how Erwin smelled. He just smelt of gun powered and strong, expensive aftershave. While that was a scent that sent him to different places, this was gentle and calming. It was... homely. Levi bit the inside of his cheek to distract himself from the scent. The girl handed Eren his change, and Eren relaxed back into his seat. Immediately the air cleared and Levi was able to take the coffee cup and tuck it into the cup holder by his right hand.

What had just happened to him?

Instead of caring, he threw the car into first gear and drove away from the Starbucks and back onto the street towards the crime scene.

It had been a few days since the last time he'd been laid. Eren's closeness must have reminded him of that. Most people didn't get that close. Most people knew better.

...

Levi parked two blocks from the apartment building where the crime scene was. Ignoring Eren's confused glances as he drove passed the horde of police cruisers, lights flashing red and blue on the street outside a twelve story apartment building laced with scaffolding. This was the most important part to a case, the walk up to the crime scene. He found that parking right out front never gave him the context he needed to understand everything. It helped him put the crime scene into a frame of reference. It helped him scope out possible locations of entry and exit where witnesses might not see. It helped him understand what the murder was looking at as far obstacles.

Parking the car, he slid out of the driver's seat, his half finished latte in one hand, and the other sliding his dark sunglasses up on top of his head. He knew the part of town they were in. It wasn't the most upscale, but neither was it in a bad part of town. He had to have a pretty decent salary to be living here, or he had to be sharing the rent with another person. It was likely that both people had well paying jobs.

The buildings were mostly older. Late 60s at the earliest, with rickety fire escapes and dark back alleys. Likely the murder could have hidden in one of the alleys. If he was skilled, he would have melted into the shadows that were cast on the narrow gaps between the brick buildings even in the bright cool light of the mid January morning sun. The murder could have scaled the fire escape to the window of his target, bypassing any door men or security cameras that might be in the lobbies of any of these apartment buildings.

He noted a number of faces peering down at the street that they walked along from the windows of the lining apartment building. _Good. _He thought, _With nosy neighbors like this, someone might have seen something. _He knew it was a long shot. Most of the time people kept to themselves, not making note of a stranger walking down the street in the middle of the night unless they are making a commotion. But with a low traffic street such as this, the likelihood of something out of the ordinary being noticed was higher than on a busier street in a worse part of town.

When he reached the front door of the apartment building, he noted three cameras, and a door man. If his murder was smart, he was willing to bet that the fire escape _had_ been the mode of entry. The elevator, and the stair well were similarly equipped with security cameras, making it even less likely that a smart murder would have used either to reach the victim.

Levi climbed the stairs to the third floor where 20 odd individuals milled around with notebooks and cameras and a whole other assortment of equipment for specimen taking. A couple of the CSU guys waved or nodded in greeting, some shot bewildered glances at the young detective on Levi's heels. Eren was drinking in the crime scene in silence, trying not to let his shock show in his large green eyes.

"What have we got here?" Levi asked the detective walking towards him. Gunter had been with the force just over five years now and had worked with Levi on a few cases with him now.

"26 year old Caucasian male found at 0900 this morning by the Land Lady," Gunter paused and pointed at a woman who was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket speaking quietly to Gunter's partner, Erd. "Looks like our perp came in through the window, the latch was broken. We've ID the vic as Marco Bodt." Levi nodded, scanning the apartment. From the door way, he could see tables and bookshelves over turned. It looked like someone was trying to get out of the apartment fast, like someone was trying to escape and was pushing obstacles into the path of their pursuant. There was blood smear on the over turned tables, a trail of blood leading down the hall and out the door.

Who was bleeding?

Who was being pursued?

Why?

"Alright. I want you to get uniforms to canvas the area. Go door to door to all the surrounding apartments. Find out if anyone saw anything weird last night, and get CSU to make sure they get these blood samples and send them to the lab." Levi told Gunter, his eyes flickering from one over turned table to another, looking for anything, a scrap of fabric, and hair fiber, anything.

Levi made his way into the apartment as Gunter moved away to talk to another police officer. He turned the corner and the full crime scene came into view. He heard Eren take in a sharp breath as his eyes fell on the destruction before him.

Levi had rarely seen anything quite as gruesome as what was before him right now. The entire linoleum floor of the kitchen was covered with fragments of shattered glass. Blood was smeared across the counter tops. The butcher block on the counter had toppled over, knives scattered across the counter. The fridge hung open, the food inside had either fallen on the floor amid the glass or had toppled over inside the refrigerator. Then he saw Hanji hunched over the body. She looked up at the sound of the glass crunching under Levi's boots. She smiled, pushing up her glasses with the back of her gloved hand.

"Yo! Levi!" she said. "Who's the kid?"

"Some newbie that Erwin dumped on me," he replied, letting his eyes fall on the knife from the butcher's block on the floor next to Hanji, it's silver edge painted red with blood.

"I bet that's not the only thing he's dumped on you," Hanji replied with a sly grin, to which Levi only raised an eyebrow. It wasn't really a secret. Rumors had been flying around since Levi joined the force six years earlier. Hanji laughed and turned back towards the body. "Make sure you've got a barf bag ready for the newbie."

Levi turned to Eren.

"If you throw up on my crime scene, I will make you bleed." He told the young detective with venom in his voice. "Do you understand?" Eren nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. "Good." And he knelt down on the opposite side of the body from Hanji, pulling on the blue latex gloves he kept in his pocket.

"Don't worry, kid," Hanji said looking at Eren over Levi's shoulder, "He might seem cold, but he's really a softie."

"What's the COD?" Levi asked looking down at the body. It was pretty gruesome. The body was mostly naked, wearing jut a pair of boxers. The kid's head was sitting at an awkward angle, obviously a snapped neck. Bruises had spread across his cheeks and his right eye, almost hiding the ghost of freckles that were splattered across his pale face. A couple of teeth had been knocked out. Lacerations covered his torso and his arms. Most of the wounds hadn't bleed profusely, leading Levi to believe that hemorrhage was not the cause of death, but most likely the broken neck.

"Your vic was in a pretty hefty fight, and by the look of it, he didn't have the upper hand at all. Who ever did this knew exactly where to hit to get optimal results. Although, my guess is this kid put up quite a fight. What ultimately killed him though is the broken neck. Looks like who ever it was got behind him and snapped it. He was dead before he hit the ground." Hanji explained, pointing out some of the lacerations that were interesting, and some bruising over his kidneys.

"Looks like were looking at a professional," Levi muttered, as he ran his fingers over the wounds on the kid's arms.

"Most likely." Hanji agreed, nodding.

"That complicates things a little," Levi continued, just running his hands over the bruising.

"One of the reasons I thought you might be interested in this one," Hanji replied, "I'm going to get him back to the lab, give him the full Hanji treatment. I'll let you know if I find anything interesting." Levi nodded and stood back up, doffing the gloves and throwing them away.

"Thanks Hanji." He replied. "Let's go, Newbie."

He made his way over to Erd, who had just finished talking to the Land Lady.

"Land Lady found our vic on the kitchen floor this morning while she was coming to talk to another tenant. She noticed that the door was open. When she got to the door, she noticed the over turned tables. Out of curiosity, she went in and found this mess.

Turns out Marco has lived here for about a year now with his boyfriend Jean Kirschtein. According to the Land Lady, they've been great. Always pay their rent on time. Never get up to any trouble. No complaints from the neighbours. They both work full time. Never have any visitors. Marco worked for Maria, a pharmaceutical and biotech company."

"Where's the boyfriend?" Levi asked.

"When the Land Lady got here, Jean wasn't here. House was empty except for Marco."

"Have we got a hold of Next of Kin?" Levi asked.

"Not yet, I've got some of my guys on it. Also, CSU found these on the kitchen counter." He held out his hand to show Levi two syringes filled with a yellowish liquid. Levi raised his eyebrow, this was beginning to look more and more like a planned hit.

"Alright. Send those to the lab. I'm confident with what we'll find in those syringes, but best double check. I'll check out Maria. You see if you can get a hold of his family, and the boyfriend."

"Sounds good," Erd nodded.

"And make sure Hanji doesn't go over board over there," he nodded back towards the kitchen.

"Of course, sir. I'll call you with any updates."

"Come on, Newbie." and with that he left the scene with Eren still on his heels.

...

Once back in the car, back in the silence where he could think, he tried to put together the pieces that he already had.

A body with signs of an obvious struggle. A planned hit on a worker at a drug company. A forced entry. A missing boyfriend. It wasn't much to go on. Yet.

"Good job keeping your mouth shut, Newbie," he growled, starting up the car.

"It was all rather shocking," Eren admitted, finally finding his voice, a small squeak of a voice.

"It doesn't get any easier," Levi answered and drove off in the direction of Maria's main offices in the downtown core.


	3. Chapter 3: A Lot of Nothing

Chapter Three: A Lot of Nothing

The drive to Maria's head office was mostly silent, just like the drive to the crime scene had been. Eren gripped on to the edges of the leather passenger seat, his knuckles turning white. Levi smirked as he watched Eren out of the corner of his eye. Mostly he just focused his attention on the case, trying to sort through the puzzle pieces available to him at this moment. Knowing he was missing a great deal of information, he only found himself pressed up against walls no matter where he looked.

At first he liked the missing boyfriend for the crime, but then he'd remember the window with the signs of forced entry. It didn't make sense for the boyfriend to sneak in the window if he already had a key.

Then again. He might have gone that way just to distract the cops. With no signs of forced entry, the attention would be directed on him. Forced entry makes it look more like a home invader.

But then why skip out? Why leave. That only made him look more guilty.

And then there was the planned nature of the murder to take into account.

What were the motives?

There was the usual. Money. Affair. Reputation.

With a sigh, and his eyes half lidded, he tried to force the thoughts of the case out of his head, silently berating himself for overthinking the situation with so few pieces of the puzzle at his disposal. Why bother creating theories without a more complete picture. All he had at this point was a dead body and a missing boy friend. No point in jumping to conclusions.

He pulled into the underground parking lot of the towering Maria head office building. It's glass windows glinted in the sun which peaked through the neighbouring buildings, each taller than the last. Once inside the dusty and damp parkade, Levi felt an immediate sensation of being trapped. Too many dark corners where people could be hiding. Too many uncertainties. He tried to ignore the way the ceiling and the walls seemed to be closing in on him as he directed the car to the first available parking space closest to the exit.

"I don't want to have to remind you every time to stay out of my way," Levi growled as he closed the car door, the sharp sounds echoing through the empty underground lot.

"Y-yes, sir!" Eren replied, springing to his feet, his face flushed. Levi rolled his eyes at Eren's eagerness and turned on his heel towards the exit, not bothering to take a backwards glance at Eren as he locked the police cruiser remotely. He could hear the slapping of Eren's boots on the damp pavement of the parking lot behind him as he continued onwards.

Eren stood in silence in the elevator as it carried them towards the lobby of the building, for which Levi was thankful. Closing his eyes he tried to focus on something else. Anything else. Anything other than the small box slowly filling up with the scent of Dove soap and Leather Jackets. The space slowly getting smaller.

The door opened to bright sunlight, and Levi stepped out of the elevator quickly, releasing his breath as he did so. The elevator had released him into the lobby of the Maria building, and as he would have expected the entire lobby was pristine, stainless steel and white, lit up by the numerous ceiling to floor windows that opened to New York beyond. It was exactly what he would expect from a top ranking drug company.

He marched across the main lobby to the front desk, a young girl with blond hair and a head set clacking away at the letters on a key board with highly polished gel nails. Pulling out his badge he slid it across the raised counter which came almost to his shoulders.

"Detective Levi," he announced formally, "NYPD. I'm here to talk to some one about one of your employees."

The girl looked skeptically down at the badge, then back at Levi, barely able to see over the counter. He clenched his jaw and tried not to glare at her, daring her to try and refuse him. He was itching to have a reason to pull out his cuffs. Bright eyes flickered back down to the badge before she slid it back towards Levi.

"Who can I help you find?" she asked, her voice sugary sweet in a way that seemed so fake it left a bad taste in Levi's mouth.

"I need to talk to HR, maybe the president of the company regarding an employee that works here, goes by the name Marco Bodt."

The girl nodded and returned her attention to the computer in front of her. Punching a few numbers and letters into the key board until she found what she was looking for.

"Yes, hello," she said, obviously talking into the microphone of the head set she was wearing, "I have two cops here who need to talk to you regarding a Marco Bodt?" She fell silent waiting for a response. "Mmhmm. Mmhmm. Alright. I'll send them right up." She pressed a button on the key board, then flicked her eyes back to Levi. "Take the elevator to the 12th floor. Down the hall and to your right. You'll be talking to Marloew Frewdenberg, he's head of HR here."

She gave a a fake smile, flashing her bright smile first at Levi, then at Eren who was standing at attention behind Levi. Great. He thought. Another elevator ride.

They stepped on the elevator, Levi trying to hide the sudden intake of breath as he crossed over the threshold. He punched the 12 button on the panel and closed his eyes, ignoring the gears and electrical circuits humming somewhere above his head.

It wasn't that he was afraid of closed in spaces. At least he would never admit he was. It was more that they made him uncomfortable. He had no where to go, no where to hide, no where to run. He was trapped.

He could feel the presence of the walls closing in on him. the space was getting smaller. Tighter. Deep breaths in and out, in and out. Just focus on that. Again the smell of Dove soap and leather assaulted his olfaction, but this time he found comfort in it. BING. The door opened, and he was off the elevator before Eren had even shifted from his position.

"You must be the cop," the guy leaning back in the chair behind the desk said as Levi entered the room. His voice was nasally, and irritating. The plaque on the desk Marlowe Frewdenberg. Looks like they found the right guy.

"Detective Levi, NYPD. I'm here investigating the murder of one of your employees," Levi growled, flashing his badge at the the guy. He watched as the colour drained from Marlowe's face. He straightened up in his chair, and cleared his throat.

"Murder?" he asked, his voice tight. "You don't think…"

"Nothing like that, yet," Levi assured him, "Just trying to fill in some blanks."

"O-of course," Marlowe answered, "what can I help you with?"

"Marco Bodt?" Levi asked.

"Marco! Sweet kid! He's dead?" Levi could swear that Marlowe's face had just turned a nasty shade of grey. "He's been with the company 5 years now. Worked as a chemical engineer. Never had such a bright mind. We were expecting big things from him." Marlowe sounded washed out, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"So you'd say that he had a pretty good work life," Levi asked.

"I didn't know him personally," Marlowe admitted, "but I've heard fantastic things about him. You're going to want to talk to his supervisor to get a better idea of what his work life was like."

"So as far as you know, there were no issues with him."

"Nothing that got reported in any case." Marlowe answered.

"Who was his supervisor? I'd like to get in touch with them."

"Keith Shadis, He works out of the lab in NYU,"

"Alright. Thanks for your time." Levi replied, nodding at the door to indicate to Eren that it was time to leave. They had everything they were going to get. A few more pieces. Nothing that would make a huge difference in the long term, but at least he had a better idea of who this Marco was.

They took the elevator back to the parking garage, Levi ignored Eren's now curious glances and the sharp intakes of breath and the obvious change in his carriage as soon as the doors closed. As soon as the cruiser was back out on the sun light streets of New York, Levi felt his phone buzz on his hip.

"Levi," he said into the phone.

"Yo," it was Gunter, "No luck on the boyfriend, we are putting out an APB on him, see if we can get any information on him. As for family, looks like our vic was mixed up in foster care for most of his life. We are running him through the system to see if we can figure out if he was close to anyone."

"Alright. Thanks for the upda…"

"That's not all," Gunter interrupted, "CSU found his cell phone under the bed, among some used condoms."

"That's nice, I assume they are running the condoms for DNA and finger prints?"

"Obviously. Tech also got into the phone, they were able to pull his calendar from the phone."

"Anything interesting?"

"Not really. We got a few things like: J leaves on the 12th and another entry for J returns a week later. I assume that might be the boyfriend. I've also got an appointment with Connie yesterday around 1."

"Any idea who this Connie might be?" Levi asked.

"Not yet." Gunter admitted.

"Alright. Good work. Keep looking for any foster siblings or family members he might have been close with. See if you can figure out who this Connie is. Newbie and I are going to NYU where our vic worked to talk to his supervisor." Levi answered.

"I'll call you with any updates," Gunter replied, and hung up the phone. Levi threw the phone in the cup holder and returned his attention to the road, directing them towards NYU.

…

The NYU campus was full of students lugging around heavy textbooks and grim faces, clearly washed out from the semester's stress. Navigating the campus took some effort, but eventually they found their way to the chemical engineering labs. Levi pushed open a door to a room with a few people hunched over microscopes with heavy volumes of textbooks propped open at their sides and note books filled with untidy scribbles of complex equations whose meanings escaped Levi. Clearing his throat, a few of them looked up from their microscopes towards him.

"I'm Detective Levi, this is Detective Eren, we're with the NYPD and we're here investigating the murder of Marco Bodt." he announced, holding his badge out so it was visible to all the interns and staff present in the lab.

"Marco? Murdered?" came a voice, a young blonde girl sitting on the edge of a stool, her right leg propped up on the metal cross bar, the other dangling, her toes lightly brushing the floor with the tip of her boots.

"Did you know him?" Levi asked.

"Yeah! I'm his intern!" she replied.

"And what's your name?"

"Christa Renz," she answered, sliding off her stool and walking towards the two detectives. "He's not really dead is he?"

"I'm afraid so," Levi answered, writing her name in his notebook. "How long were you his intern?"

"About six months now," she answered.

"And how well did you know him."

"Well enough I guess. I knew he was brilliant. Never took on interns before this year. I knew he was gay, but then again, it wasn't like he kept it secret."

"What do you know about his boyfriend?"

"Not much," she admitted.

"Oh?"

"Well he never visited. Marco was pretty private about his personal life, never really talked about it. His boyfriend never visited the lab. He would call on occasion."

"Do you know his name?"

"John, I think?"

"When he would call, how did Marco seem? Tense? Nervous? Upset? Angry?"

"No! Never! When ever his boyfriend would call, Marco's face would just light up. I never saw him smile that way."

"Alright. Do you know where we might find a Keith Shadis?"

"Keith? Yeah. He's just taking a break. He should be back any minute now."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth did the lab door open and a severe looking bald man walked into the lab.

"Who the fuck are these chuckle heads?" he asked, glaring down at Levi.

"Detective Levi, NYPD." Levi replied, bringing himself up to his full height, glaring up at Keith, and fingering his gun. Almost instantly, Keith shrunk away, his face softening slightly.

"What can I do for you, good detective?"

"I have a few questions to ask you about Marco Bodt,"

"Marco? Why?"

"He's dead."

Even after years of experience, Levi could never really get over the look on a person's face when you told them someone they knew was dead. The way their face just sagged. Their whole body sagged. It was like they let out a huge breath and forgot to inhale again. Everything was completely sapped from their face.

"Dead?" he whispered. "Oh God. He was such a good kid," Keith stumbled backwards, sitting on a stool to balance himself.

"Any idea who might have done this to him?" Keith's face had a sudden flash of realization, but he quickly hid it behind a mask of grieving. This guy had an idea of something that might have gotten Marco into trouble. He might be dismissing it because it seemed unlikely. If nothing else turned up in the investigation, Levi would readdress that moment of hesitation on Keith's face. He still needed to keep and eye on this guy. He made a mental note to put tabs on him. In his peripheral vision, Levi saw Eren shift his weight from one foot to the other. He was obviously aware of the slight change in Keith's facial expression too. Good. Maybe this kid wasn't entirely useless.

"None." Keith answered, all of the grandiose illusion of tough guy completely evaporated, the sorrow splashed across his face.

"How long has he been working under you?"

"Since he started with the company 5 years ago,"

"So it's fair to say you knew him very well?"

"Yeah, he was a very private person. Never really talked about his personal life, but I was probably the person he was closest too within the company."

"Did he ever confined in you?"

"Not usually. Like I said, he was a very private person."

"So he never told you about any trouble he was having. Finically, or otherwise?"

"No,"

"Have there been any issues with him at work?"

"Never! He was a brilliant kid. Never missed a day. Always worked himself to the bone."

"No complaints against him?"

"He got along with everyone,"

"What about in the last few days? Anything weird happen? Did he seem off in any way?"

"Off? No…" Keith chewed the inside of his cheek for a second and then said, "Actually. The last few weeks he seemed really distracted and anxious. And, yesterday he just up and left."

"What time?"

"Around noon? It wasn't like him at all. He was usually here until after eight every night."

"Any idea where he was headed?"

"No idea," Keith shrugged.

"Alright. We also have intel suggesting that he was dating someone. Do you have a name?"

"Nope. I have no idea. Never had anyone come and visit. He never talked about it."

"Alright. And any idea who 'Connie' might be?"

"Never heard the name before," Keith answered, shaking his head thoughtfully.

"Alright. Thanks for your cooperation. Don't leave town. I might have more questions for you later."

And with that, Levi left the lab with some new information to chew on.

Who is Connie?

Why was he meeting him yesterday?

Why had Marco been so anxious the last few weeks?

And why was he so private about who he was seeing?

He pulled his cell phone out of it's holster on his belt and check to see if he had missed any calls from Erd or Gunter. Nothing yet. It was time to head back to the precinct and see what Hanji had pulled up on her autopsy. See if anything else would pop.

"Sir?" Eren asked as they walked across campus, their collars turned up against the wind that was picking up.

"Yes?" Levi growled.

"Keith knew something and he wasn't saying anything."

"I know," Levi answered, shrugging his shoulders, "if it was something that he thought was important he would have brought it up. In the mean time, I'm putting him on a no fly list and I'm going to trace his credit cards."

"You think he might have done it?" Eren asked, in awe.

"I'm not ruling him out. But, he's definitely hiding something. Might as well cover my bases, right Brittany?"

"Why do you always call me girl names? My name is Eren!"

"I'm aware of that. This is just more fun." Levi admitted as he unlocked the police cruiser and pulled open the door, a sight grin tugged on the corners of his lips as he slid into the chair.

…


End file.
